Scheduled UCI transmission scheme

ABSTRACT

A radio network device is operative to transmit uplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots. The device is further operative to transmit, in addition to the uplink data, Uplink Control Information (UCI) in at least one of the aggregated slots. The UCI may comprise a HARQ ACK/NACK. The UCI is configured in response to Downlink Control Information (DCI) received from a serving network node. The DCI also includes a UL scheduling grant for the physical uplink channel. The UCI may be configured in the physical uplink channel transmission in a variety of ways. Various amounts of frequency resource (e.g., subcarriers) may be allocated to UCI. The subcarriers may be non-contiguous. In slot aggregation, the UCI subcarriers may frequency hop from slot to slot. The UCI may be encoded differently in different slots, to facilitate early decoding by a receiver (which may, for example immediately prepare a re-transmission in the case of a NACK).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/338,325, which was filed on Mar. 29, 2019, which is anational stage application of PCT/EP2017/074861, filed Sep. 29, 2017,and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/402,405, filedSep. 30, 2016, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, andin particular to a system and method of transmitting Uplink ControlInformation.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication networks, and radio network devices such ascellphones and smartphones, are ubiquitous in many parts of the world.These networks continue to grow in capacity and sophistication. Toaccommodate both more users and a wider range of types of devices thatmay benefit from wireless communications, the technical standardsgoverning the operation of wireless communication networks continue toevolve. The fourth generation (4G) of network standards has beendeployed, and the fifth generation (5G, also known as New Radio, or NR)is in development.

One principle of prior and existing wireless communication networkprotocols is the separation of user data, such as voice, text, email,audio, video, and the like, from network overhead, such as powercontrol, mobility management, authentication, error control, and thelike. Nodes, circuits, and links handling user data are referred to asthe “user plane,” and those handling network overhead are referred to asthe “control plane.”

The basic structure of the Radio Access Network in modern wirelesscommunication networks, particularly cellular networks, is a pluralityof fixed network nodes, known variously as base stations, eNodeBs (eNB),and the like, each providing service to fixed or mobile radio networkdevices over a geographic area (sometimes called a cell). There are twoprimary directions of transmission in these networks: downlinktransmissions from a base station to a radio network device, and uplinktransmission from a radio network device to the base station. There mayalso be sidelink transmissions—i.e, device-to-device or networknode-to-node. To avoid interference between the two primary directionsof transmission, modern wireless communication network protocols providefor operation using either Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), whereinuplink and downlink transmissions occur simultaneously on separatefrequencies, or Time Division Duplex (TDD), wherein uplink and downlinktransmissions occur on the same frequencies, but at different times.

Due to the inherent vagaries of radio communication (e.g., Rayleighfading, multipath propagation, Doppler shifts for moving devices, andthe like), most wireless communications include errors. Accordingly, anumber of techniques have been developed to mitigate errors, such asforward error-correcting coding, error-detecting codes such as cyclicredundancy check (CRC), and automatic transmissionacknowledgement/retransmission requests. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request(HARQ) is an error mitigation protocol that combines all threetechniques. In the HARQ protocol, a receiver demodulates and decodes areceived signal (correcting what errors it can by virtue of theerror-correction coding), generates a local CRC, and compares it to thereceived CRC. If the two CRCs match, the receiver transmits anAcknowledgement (ACK) to the transmitter, indicating successfulreception. Otherwise, it transmits a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK),which is interpreted as a request for retransmission.

Due to the broad variety of types of traffic that New Radio targets tosupport, in some TDD configurations, strict separation of some controlplane signaling, such as HARQ feedback, from user data introducesexcessive overhead delay into the communication, which could otherwisebe used to improve the effective user plane bitrate.

The Background section of this document is provided to place embodimentsof the present invention in technological and operational context, toassist those of skill in the art in understanding their scope andutility. Approaches descried in the Background section could be pursued,but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceivedor pursued. Unless explicitly identified as such, no statement herein isadmitted to be prior art merely by its inclusion in the Backgroundsection.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding to those of skill in the art. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and is notintended to identify key/critical elements of embodiments of theinvention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The sole purposeof this summary is to present some concepts disclosed herein in asimplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

According to one or more embodiments described and claimed herein, aradio network device is operative to transmit Uplink Control Information(UCI) only, data only, or both UCI and data together, on the samephysical uplink channel. The UCI may comprise a HARQ ACK/NACK. The UCIis configured in response to Downlink Control Information (DCI) receivedfrom a serving network node. The DCI also includes a UL scheduling grantfor the physical uplink channel. The UCI may be configured in thephysical uplink channel transmission in a variety of ways. Variousamounts of frequency resource (e.g., subcarriers) may be allocated toUCI. The subcarriers may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In slotaggregation, the UCI subcarriers may frequency hop from slot to slot.The UCI may be encoded differently in different slots, to facilitateearly decoding by a receiver (which may, for example immediately preparea re-transmission in the case of a NACK).

One embodiment relates to a method, performed by a radio network deviceoperative in a wireless communication network utilizing slot timingwhere a slot comprises a predetermined number of symbols, oftransmitting data and UCI. Uplink data are transmitted on a physicaluplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots. Inaddition to the uplink data, UCI is transmitted in at least one of theaggregated slots.

Another embodiment relates to a radio network device operative in awireless communication network utilizing slot timing where a slotcomprises a predetermined number of symbols. The radio network deviceincludes one or more antennas, a transceiver operatively connected tothe antennas, and processing circuitry operatively connected to thetransceiver. The processor is operative to transmit uplink data on aphysical uplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots;and transmit, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in at least one of theaggregated slots.

Yet another embodiment relates to an apparatus operative in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols. The apparatus includes a first moduleoperative to transmit uplink data on a physical uplink shared channelaggregating two or more contiguous slots. The apparatus further includesa second module operative to transmit, in addition to the uplink data,UCI in at least one of the aggregated slots.

Yet another embodiment relates to a method, performed by network node ina wireless communication network utilizing slot timing where a slotcomprises a predetermined number of symbols, of receiving data and UCIfrom a radio network device. Uplink data are received on a physicaluplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots. Inaddition to the uplink data, UCI is received in at least one of theaggregated slots.

Yet another embodiment relates to a network node operative in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols. The network node includes one or moreantennas, a transceiver operatively connected to the antennas, andprocessing circuitry operatively connected to the transceiver. Theprocessor is operative to receive uplink data on a physical uplinkshared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots; and receive, inaddition to the uplink data, UCI in at least one of the aggregatedslots.

Yet another embodiment relates to an apparatus operative in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols. The apparatus includes a first moduleoperative to receive uplink data on a physical uplink shared channelaggregating two or more contiguous slots. The apparatus further includesa second module operative to receive, in addition to the uplink data,UCI in at least one of the aggregated slots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. However, this invention should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in theart. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram depicting a prior art TDD HARQ transmission.

FIG. 2 is a timing diagram depicting DCI configuring uplink transmissionin TDD.

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram depicting slot aggregation in TDD.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram depicting required HARQ configuration in NRTDD to conform to LTE TDD.

FIG. 5 is a time/frequency diagram depicting non-contiguous subcarrierallocation to UCI.

FIG. 6 is a time/frequency diagram depicting multi-slot UCI allocation.

FIG. 7 is a time/frequency diagram depicting slot-to-slot UCI frequencyhopping.

FIG. 8 is a time/frequency diagram depicting UCI transmission in fewerthan all slots of a slot aggregation.

FIG. 9 is a time/frequency diagram depicting UCI coding in slotaggregation.

FIG. 10 is a time/frequency diagram depicting an advantage of early UCIdecoding.

FIG. 11 is flow diagram of a method of transmitting UCI.

FIG. 12 is flow diagram of a method of receiving UCI.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a network node.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a base station.

FIG. 15 is diagram of processing circuits in a network node or basestation.

FIG. 16 is diagram of software modules in a network node or basestation.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a radio network device.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a User Equipment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram of processing circuits in a radio network device orUE.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of software modules in a radio network device orUE.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an apparatus for receiving UCI.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting UCI.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present invention isdescribed by referring mainly to an exemplary embodiment thereof. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent invention may be practiced without limitation to these specificdetails. In this description, well known methods and structures have notbeen described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 depicts a frame structure that is commonly considered for NewRadio (NR) Time Division Duplex (TDD) operation. In this framestructure, a downlink transmission is followed by a short uplinktransmission to feed back a HARQ ACK/NACK indication. Depending on thedecoding latency of the radio network device, the ACK/NACK may relate toa downlink transmission in the same slot interval, or it may relate toan earlier downlink transmission. The uplink transmission depicted atthe end of the slot may not be present in every slot; also, there may beslots containing only downlink or only uplink transmissions.

NR is targeted to cover a very wide application space. For example, itwill support Mobile Broadband (MBB), with very wide bandwidth and highdata rates, as well as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) type communications,which are often characterized by narrow bandwidth, low power, and lowdata rates. MBB services benefit from a frame structure using slotssimilar to that defined for the Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G protocol.For latency critical services, a slot duration of 1 ms may be too long.The choice of the slot length is a compromise between MBB requirements(which often benefit from larger subframe durations) and latencycritical services. It is anticipated that a slot will be defined as 7and/or 14 symbols in the 3GPP NR 5G protocol.

FIG. 2 depicts a use case of heavy uplink transmissions. In this case, asingle slot is too short and multiple uplink transmissions are scheduledsubsequently. The uplink transmission in each slot is controlled by anUL scheduling grant included in Downlink Control Information (DCI)transmitted in the downlink. Each time the duplex direction is changed,a guard interval is required to enable interference-free UL-to-DL and toDL-to-UL switches. For uplink-heavy MBB transmissions, a commonscheduling pattern would be that depicted in FIG. 2 . The numerous guardperiods required for the UL/DL switching result in high overhead.

FIG. 3 depicts slot aggregation, or slot bundling. This is a proposedapproach to alleviating the high-overhead situation of FIG. 2 . In thiscase, multiple uplink slots are scheduled for the same UE, and only oneDCI is required to configure them. In a TDD system, the largest overheadsaving results from the fewer guard times, as compared to thesingle-slot UL scheduling depicted in FIG. 2 .

As mentioned, it is anticipated that the NR frame structure will featurea slot length of 7 and/or 14 symbols. HARQ feedback will be required foreach downlink transmission. To fit this feedback into a small portion atthe end of a slot, the UL transmission must be very short, typicallyone, or a very few, symbols. Depending on the numerology, one OFDMsymbol has length

$\frac{67{us}}{2^{n}}$with n the numerology scaling factor. For LTE-like deployments at leastn=0 (15 kHz) and n=1 (30 kHz) are interesting options. Feedbacktransmission over one or a few OFDM symbols is much shorter than the LTEPhysical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission duration of 1 ms,with accordingly reduced coverage. To match the LTE PUCCH link budget,it should be possible to transmit HARQ feedback in UL over a duration ofaround 1 ms.

It is envisioned that NR can coexist with LTE Frame Structure type 2(FS2) if deployed in the same frequency band. Depending on theinterference situation, this may require that LTE and NR use the sameDL/UL pattern in TDD implementations. In such cases it is not possibleto transmit UL HARQ feedback at the end of a DL-heavy slot. Rather, forco-existence, the UL transmission must be delayed until the next ULopportunity in LTE FS2. FIG. 4 depicts this situation. Accordingly, HARQfeedback transmitted at the end of a DL-heavy subframe is not sufficientto cover all deployments of NR.

No NR UL HARQ feedback scheme has yet been defined; HARQ feedbacktransmitted at the slot end is often mentioned as a candidate. PUCCH isdefined for LTE. Additionally, the transmission of Uplink ControlInformation (UCI), which may include HARQ, may occur in LTE on thePhysical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). PUSCH in LTE uses DiscreteFourier Transform (DFT) spread Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM), or DFTS-OFDM. OFDM is assumed herein. Additionally,in LTE, PUSCH has a fixed length, whereas slot aggregation is assumedherein.

According to embodiments of the present invention, one physical uplinkchannel can be used for data only, UCI (e.g., HARQ feedback) only, orboth UCI and data. This simplifies the required design and controlchannel resource, since one UL grant can be used for a combined“data+HARQ feedback” transmission—in contrast, two UL grants would berequired if each transmission were to be transmitted on its own physicalchannel.

If the receiving network node can decode the HARQ feedback before the ULtransmission ends, the remaining UL transmission time can be used by thenetwork node for internal processing to prepare a re-transmission (ifneeded) for the next slot.

Accordingly, embodiments are described herein in which it is possible totransmit HARQ feedback on a scheduled UL channel (typically togetherwith data). In particular, embodiments comprise a mechanism todifferentiate between the cases where only HARQ feedback bits aretransmitted, and where both data and HARQ feedback are transmittedtogether. Embodiments further comprise a coding and mapping of HARQfeedback to UL resources that enables early decoding at the receivingnetwork node. In particular, decoding should be possible in good channelconditions before the UL transmission ends.

NR supports dynamic TDD, where HARQ feedback bits of multiple HARQprocesses must be transmitted in a single UL transmission. A physicaluplink channel is defined, which may be similar in some respects to theLTE PUSCH. The physical uplink channel may be used for both data andUplink Control Information (UCI) such as HARQ ACK/NACK feedback.

The physical uplink channel is scheduled via Downlink ControlInformation (DCI), containing an UL grant, transmitted by the servingnetwork node. Since, in some embodiments, the physical uplink channelcan be transmitted over multiple slots, an UL grant contains, inaddition to the frequency resources, also time-domain resources (e.g.,which or how many slots are used for the physical uplink channel). Thetime-domain resource signaling may be explicit in the DCI;alternatively, it may be derived implicitly from other parameters. Thefrequency-domain mapping of the physical uplink channel can be bothlocalized and distributed, since a multi-carrier scheme is assumed inUL.

The DCI specifying the UL transmission may contain an indicator whether,e.g., UCI only, data only, or both UCI and data together will betransmitted on the physical uplink channel. In one embodiment, theindicator is a flag (e.g., a bit) indicating whether UCI should betransmitted. The DCI may additionally contain other parameters, such asa Transport Block (TB) size parameter, a Modulation and Coding Scheme(MCS) or Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) related parameters. Inone embodiment, the indicator comprises a TB size parameter having azero value if only UCI should be transmitted on the physical uplinkchannel. In another embodiment, this may be indicated by a reserved codepoint in the DCI. In this case some other DCI fields related to datatransmission may become irrelevant and be omitted, set to a fixed value,or reused for other purposes.

Based on at least the frequency-domain location of the physical uplinkchannel (derived from information in the DCI), the radio network devicecan calculate the resource elements (RE) which are used for data andthose which are used for UCI. To obtain frequency diversity, the mappingof UCI to subcarriers is preferably distributed within the physicaluplink channel. FIG. 5 depicts an example of this.

Several allocation schemes are envisioned. In one embodiment, the numberof subcarriers (frequency resources) of the physical uplink channelallocated to UCI can be a fixed percentage of the total allocatedresources. In one embodiment, the allocation may deviate from this fixedpercentage to comply with a lower and/or upper cap, to avoid allocatingtoo few or too many resources, respectively. In one embodiment, a fixedabsolute number of subcarriers may be allocated to UCI, which in oneembodiment may depend on the amount of resources allocated to thephysical uplink channel. In another embodiment, the allocation offrequency resources in the physical uplink channel to UCI may depend onone or more other parameters, such as MCS or MIMO configuration. If nodata are transmitted on the physical uplink channel, all scheduledresources are used for UCI transmission.

Uplink transmission in NR supports slot aggregation. That is, an ULtransmission may span two or more slots. FIG. 6 depicts a transmissionin which two slots are aggregated. The localized physical uplink channelis only one example; in general, the allocation of frequency resourcesto the physical uplink channel may be localized or distributed.Similarly, the localized UCI mapping per slot is only a representativeexample; in general, both localized and distributed mapping are withinthe scope of embodiments of the present invention.

In one embodiment, in slot aggregation, the frequency allocation of UCIsubcarriers within the physical uplink channel frequency allocationvaries from slot to slot, to achieve frequency diversity, even if thephysical uplink channel itself is transmitted without frequency hopping.In this case, the hopping pattern may follow a pseudo random patternderived from information available to both the radio network device andnetwork node. Examples include a subframe number, device identity, thenumber of transmitted slots, and the like. FIG. 7 depicts an example ofUCI subcarrier allocation frequency hopping slot-to-slot within thephysical uplink channel.

FIG. 8 depicts a case of slot aggregation, according to one embodiment,in which the slots containing UCI are designated. An indication of thenumber of slots containing UCI, and/or which slots those are, may bedynamic (e.g., in the DCI containing the UL grant), or semi-static(e.g., via configuration or higher layer signaling). The number andlocation of UCI slots may also be derived from other DCI/schedulingparameters. For example, if very high MCS and/or MIMO and/or TB sizeand/or wide resource allocation is used (indicating a high SINR), theUCI may not need to extend across all slots in a long slot aggregate,but may only be transmitted over a few. In one embodiment, the lengthindication may be a combination of an explicit information field in theDCI and other DCI/scheduling parameters. For example, an explicit bitmay indicate “UCI is transmitted across all slots” or “UCI istransmitted across variable number of slots,” and the variable number ofslots would be derived from other DCI/scheduling parameters. In oneembodiment, varying the number of slots over which UCI is transmitted(either by varying the slot aggregate length or by varying which slotsin the aggregate contain UCI) is used for link adaptation of UCItransmission.

In some embodiments, the UCI always spans all slots of the physicaluplink channel. In this case, or even in the case that it is transmittedin several slots but not necessarily all, the first slot (or at leastthe first few slots in the slot aggregate) contains sufficient UCIinformation to enable independent decoding. That is, the UCI in thefirst slot (or first few slots) is encoded with a code rate <=1.

In one embodiment, each slot (or group of a few slots) contains encodedUCI, which are repeated several times. In good channel conditions, UCIcan be decoded after the first copy. If the receiver does not succeed indecoding the UCI, it can combine the information contained in thesubsequent copies (e.g., maximum-ratio combining, such as Chasecombining) to achieve successful decoding.

Another embodiment employs incremental redundancy. UCI in the first slot(or first few slots) is encoded to enable decoding under good channelconditions. In subsequent slots redundancy is added, i.e., incrementalredundancy. If the receiver fails to decode the UCI after the first slot(or first few slots) the receiver combines the information in subsequentslots and thereby reduces the effective code rate. FIG. 9 depicts theseembodiments.

It is advantageous for the network node to be able to decode UCI earlywithin the UL transmission, since this provides the node time to processthe UCI (e.g., HARQ feedback). In the case of a NACK, the network nodecan prepare the re-transmission during the ongoing UL transmission, andperform the DL re-transmission after the UL transmission has ended. FIG.10 depicts an example.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method 100, performed by a radio network deviceoperative in a wireless communication network utilizing slot timingwhere a slot comprises a predetermined number of symbols, oftransmitting data and UCI. Uplink data is transmitted on a physicaluplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots (block102). In addition to the uplink data, UCI is transmitted in at least oneof the aggregated slots (block 104).

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 200, performed by network node in awireless communication network utilizing slot timing where a slotcomprises a predetermined number of symbols, of receiving data and UCIfrom a radio network device. Uplink data is received on a physicaluplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots (block202). In addition to the uplink data, UCI is received in at least one ofthe aggregated slots (block 204).

FIG. 13 depicts a network node 10 operative in a wireless communicationnetwork. The network node 10 includes communication circuits 12operative to exchange data with other network nodes; processingcircuitry 14; memory 16; and radio circuits, such as a transceiver 18,one or more antennas 20, and the like, to effect wireless communicationacross an air interface to one or more radio network devices. Asindicated by the broken connection to the antenna(s) 20, the antenna(s)may be physically located separately from the network node 10, such asmounted on a tower, building, or the like. Although the memory 16 isdepicted as being separate from the processing circuitry 14, those ofskill in the art understand that the processing circuitry 14 includesinternal memory, such as a cache memory or register file. Those of skillin the art additionally understand that virtualization techniques allowsome functions nominally executed by the processing circuitry 14 toactually be executed by other hardware, perhaps remotely located (e.g.,in the so-called “cloud”).

According to embodiments of the present invention, the memory 16 isoperative to store, and the processing circuitry 14 is operative toexecute, software 22 which when executed is operative to cause thenetwork node 10 to receive data and UCI from a radio network device on aphysical uplink shared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots,wherein the UCI is received in at least one of the aggregated slots. Inparticular, the software 22, when executed on the processing circuitry14, is operative to perform the method 200 described and claimed herein.

FIG. 14 depicts an embodiment in which the network node 10 of FIG. 13 isa base station 11 providing wireless communication services to one ormore radio network devices in a geographic region (known as a cell orsector). A base station in LTE is called an e-NodeB or eNB; however, thepresent invention is not limited to LTE or eNBs.

FIG. 15 illustrates example processing circuitry 14, such as that in thenetwork node 10 of FIG. 13 or base station 11 of FIG. 14 . Theprocessing circuitry 14 comprises a plurality of physical units. Inparticular, the processing circuitry 14 comprises a data receiving unit50 and a UCI receiving unit 52. The data receiving unit 50 is configuredto receive uplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregatingtwo or more contiguous slots. The UCI receiving unit 52 is configured toreceive UCI in at least one of the aggregated slots.

FIG. 16 illustrates example software 22, such as that depicted in thememory 16 of the network node 10 of FIG. 13 or base station 11 of FIG.14 . The software 22 comprises a plurality of software modules. Inparticular, the software 22 comprises a data receiving module 54 and aUCI receiving module 56. The data receiving module 54 is configured toreceive uplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating twoor more contiguous slots. The UCI receiving module 56 is configured toreceive UCI in at least one of the aggregated slots.

FIG. 17 depicts a radio network device 30 operative in embodiments ofthe present invention. A radio network device 30 is any type devicecapable of communicating with a network node 10 and/or base station 11over radio signals. A radio network device 30 may therefore refer to amachine-to-machine (M2M) device, a machine-type communications (MTC)device, a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) device, etc. The radionetwork device may also be a User Equipment (UE); however, it should benoted that the UE does not necessarily have a “user” in the sense of anindividual person owning and/or operating the device. A radio networkdevice may also be referred to as a radio device, a radio communicationdevice, a wireless communication device, a wireless terminal, or simplya terminal—unless the context indicates otherwise, the use of any ofthese terms is intended to include device-to-device UEs or devices,machine-type devices or devices capable of machine-to-machinecommunication, sensors equipped with a radio network device,wireless-enabled table computers, mobile terminals, smart phones,laptop-embedded equipped (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USBdongles, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), etc. In thediscussion herein, the terms machine-to-machine (M2M) device,machine-type communication (MTC) device, wireless sensor, and sensor mayalso be used. It should be understood that these devices may be UEs, butmay be configured to transmit and/or receive data without direct humaninteraction.

A radio network device 30 as described herein may be, or may becomprised in, a machine or device that performs monitoring ormeasurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring measurementsto another device or a network. Particular examples of such machines arepower meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, e.g.refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. Inother scenarios, a wireless communication device as described herein maybe comprised in a vehicle and may perform monitoring and/or reporting ofthe vehicle's operational status or other functions associated with thevehicle.

In some embodiments, the radio network device 30 includes a userinterface 32 (display, touchscreen, keyboard or keypad, microphone,speaker, and the like); in other embodiments, such as in many M2M, MTC,or NB-IoT scenarios, the radio network device 30 may include only aminimal, or no, user interface 32 (as indicated by the dashed lines ofblock 32 in FIG. 17 ). The radio network device 30 also includesprocessing circuitry 34; memory 36; and radio circuits, such atransceiver 38, one or more antennas 40, and the like, to effectwireless communication across an air interface to one or more networknodes 10, 11. As indicated by the dashed lines, the antenna(s) 40 mayprotrude externally from the radio network device 30, or the antenna(s)40 may be internal.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the memory 36 isoperative to store, and the processing circuitry 34 operative toexecute, software 42 which when executed is operative to cause the radionetwork device 30 to transmit uplink data on a physical uplink sharedchannel aggregating two or more contiguous slots and, in addition to theuplink data, transmit UCI in at least one of the aggregated slots, asdescribed and claimed herein. In particular, the software 42, whenexecuted on the processing circuitry 34, is operative to perform themethod 100 described and claimed herein.

FIG. 18 depicts an embodiment in which the radio network device 30 is aUser Equipment (UE) 31. In some embodiments, the UE 31 may additionallyinclude features such as a camera, removable memory interface,short-range communication interface (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like),wired interface (USB), battery recharge port, and the like (thesefeatures are not shown in FIG. 18 ).

FIG. 19 illustrates example processing circuitry 34, such as that in theradio network device 30 of FIG. 17 or UE 31 of FIG. 18 . The processingcircuitry 34 comprises a plurality of physical units. In particular, theprocessing circuitry 34 comprises a data transmitting unit 58 and a UCItransmitting unit 60. The data transmitting unit 58 is configured totransmit uplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating twoor more contiguous slots. The UCI transmitting unit 60 is configured totransmit, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in at least one of theaggregated slots.

FIG. 20 illustrates example software 42, such as that depicted in thememory 36 of the radio network device 30 of FIG. 17 or UE 31 of FIG. 18. The software 42 comprises a plurality of software modules. Inparticular, the software 42 comprises a data transmitting module 62 andUCI transmitting module 64. The data transmitting module 62 isconfigured to transmit uplink data on a physical uplink shared channelaggregating two or more contiguous slots. The UCI transmitting module 64is configured to transmit, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in atleast one of the aggregated slots.

In all embodiments, the processing circuitry 14, 34 may comprise anysequential state machine operative to execute machine instructionsstored as machine-readable computer programs in memory 16, 36, such asone or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discretelogic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriatefirmware; one or more stored-program, general-purpose processors, suchas a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together withappropriate software; or any combination of the above.

In all embodiments, the memory 16, 36 may comprise any non-transitorymachine-readable media known in the art or that may be developed,including but not limited to magnetic media (e.g., floppy disc, harddisc drive, etc.), optical media (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), solidstate media (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, DDRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, Flash memory,solid state disc, etc.), or the like.

In all embodiments, the radio circuits may comprise one or moretransceivers 18, 38 used to communicate with one or more othertransceivers via a Radio Access Network (RAN) according to one or morecommunication protocols known in the art or that may be developed, suchas IEEE 802.xx, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, NB-IoT, or thelike. The transceiver 18, 38 implements transmitter and receiverfunctionality appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocationsand the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuitcomponents and/or software, or alternatively may be implementedseparately.

In all embodiments, the communication circuits 12 may comprise areceiver and transmitter interface used to communicate with one or moreother nodes over a communication network according to one or morecommunication protocols known in the art or that may be developed, suchas Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, IMS, SIP, or the like. Thecommunication circuits 12 implement receiver and transmitterfunctionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g.,optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiverfunctions may share circuit components and/or software, or alternativelymay be implemented separately.

FIG. 21 illustrates a plurality of modules comprising a virtual functionmodule architecture of an apparatus operative in a wirelesscommunication network. A first module 66 is configured to receive uplinkdata on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating two or morecontiguous slots. A second module 68 is configured to receive, inaddition to the uplink data, UCI in at least one of the aggregatedslots.

FIG. 22 illustrates a plurality of modules comprising a virtual functionmodule architecture of an apparatus operative in a wirelesscommunication network. A first module 70 is configured to transmituplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating two or morecontiguous slots. A second module 72 is configured to transmit, inaddition to the uplink data, UCI in at least one of the aggregatedslots.

Embodiments of the present invention present numerous advantages overthe prior art. With the flexibility of mixing UCI and data in the samephysical uplink channel, overhead is reduced by eliminating guard bandsrequired when switching between UL and DL in TDD. Furthermore, in somecases envisioned in NR, proposed HARQ schemes may be unavailable, suchas due to a co-existence requirement with LTE FS2. Allocations of UCIwithin the physical uplink channel may be configured to improveperformance. For example, the UCI may be spread among frequencyresources (e.g., subcarriers) within the physical uplink channelallocation for frequency diversity. As another example, in slotaggregation, the UCI may frequency hop between slots. The UCI may beencoded to facilitate early decoding, which may improve re-transmissiontime in the case of a NACK. The UCI may be replicated (fully or usingincremental redundancy) across slots to facilitate UCI decoding in poorchannel conditions.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways thanthose specifically set forth herein without departing from essentialcharacteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are to beconsidered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and allchanges coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appendedclaims are intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, performed by a radio network deviceoperative in a wireless communication network utilizing slot timingwhere a slot comprises a predetermined number of symbols, oftransmitting data and Uplink Control Information (UCI), the methodcomprising: transmitting uplink data on a physical uplink shared channelaggregating two or more contiguous slots for an uplink transmissionspanning the aggregated slots; transmitting, in addition to the uplinkdata, UCI in one or more, but fewer than all, of the aggregated slots onthe physical uplink shared channel.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, prior to transmitting the UCI: receiving an indication ofone or more, but fewer than all, of the aggregated slots in which totransmit UCI.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior totransmitting the UCI: receiving an indication of a number of theaggregated slots in which to transmit UCI; and transmitting UCI in theindicated number of aggregated slots, beginning with the first slot. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting UCI comprises transmittingthe UCI on the same subcarrier across two or more of the aggregatedslots.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting UCI comprisestransmitting the UCI on a first one or more subcarriers in a first slot,and on a second one or more subcarriers, different than the first one ormore subcarriers, in a second slot subsequent to the first slot.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein transmitting UCI further comprises selectingthe first and second one or more subcarriers according to a pseudorandom frequency hopping pattern based on one or more of a subframenumber, a radio network device identity, and a number of slots in thetransmission.
 7. The method of claim 3 wherein the UCI transmitted inthe first aggregated slot is encoded with a code rate <=1.
 8. The methodof claim 3 further comprising, after transmitting UCI in the first slot,repeating the UCI transmissions.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising adding redundancy to the UCI prior to repeating the UCItransmissions.
 10. A radio network device operative in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols, comprising: one or more antennas; atransceiver operatively connected to the antennas; and processingcircuitry operatively connected to the transceiver and configured totransmit uplink data on a physical uplink shared channel aggregating twoor more contiguous slots for an uplink transmission spanning theaggregated slots; transmit, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in oneor more, but fewer than all, of the aggregated slots on the physicaluplink shared channel.
 11. The radio network device of claim 10 whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to, prior to transmittingthe UCI: receive an indication of one or more, but fewer than all, ofthe aggregated slots in which to transmit UCI.
 12. The radio networkdevice of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is further configuredto, prior to transmitting the UCI: receive an indication of a number ofthe aggregated slots in which to transmit UCI; and transmit UCI in theindicated number of aggregated slots, beginning with the first slot. 13.The radio network device of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to transmit UCI by transmitting the UCI on the samesubcarrier across two or more of the aggregated slots.
 14. The radionetwork device of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configuredto transmit UCI by transmitting the UCI on a first one or moresubcarriers in a first slot, and on a second one or more subcarriers,different than the first one or more subcarriers, in a second slotsubsequent to the first slot.
 15. The radio network device of claim 14wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to transmit UCIby selecting the first and second one or more subcarriers according to apseudo random frequency hopping pattern based on one or more of asubframe number, a radio network device identity, and a number of slotsin the transmission.
 16. The radio network device of claim 12 whereinthe UCI transmitted in the first aggregated slot is encoded with a coderate <=1.
 17. The radio network device of claim 12 wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to, after transmitting UCI inthe first slot, repeat the UCI transmissions.
 18. The radio networkdevice of claim 17, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to add redundancy to the UCI prior to repeating the UCItransmissions.
 19. A method, performed by network node in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols, of receiving data and Uplink ControlInformation (UCI), from a radio network device, comprising: receivingfrom the radio network device uplink data on a physical uplink sharedchannel aggregating two or more contiguous slots for an uplinktransmission spanning the aggregated slots; and receiving from the radionetwork device, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in one or more, butfewer than all, of the aggregated slots on the physical uplink sharedchannel.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising, prior toreceiving the UCI: transmitting to the radio network device anindication of one or more, but fewer than all, of the aggregated slotsin which to transmit UCI.
 21. The method of claim 19 further comprising,prior to receiving the UCI: transmitting to the radio network device anindication of a number of the aggregated slots in which to transmit UCI;and receiving UCI in the indicated number of aggregated slots, beginningwith the first slot.
 22. The method of claim 19 wherein receiving UCIcomprises receiving the UCI on the same subcarrier across two or more ofthe aggregated slots.
 23. The method of claim 19 wherein receiving UCIcomprises receiving the UCI on a first one or more subcarriers in afirst slot, and on a second one or more subcarriers, different than thefirst one or more subcarriers, in a second slot subsequent to the firstslot.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving UCI further comprisesselecting the first and second one or more subcarriers according to apseudo random frequency hopping pattern based on one or more of asubframe number, a radio network device identity, and a number of slotsin the transmission.
 25. The method of claim 21 wherein the UCI includesa NACK, and further comprising: preparing a retransmission of downlinkdata to which the NACK pertains; and retransmitting the downlink data inthe next downlink slot of a time division duplex slot structure.
 26. Themethod of claim 21 further comprising, if the UCI is not successfullydecoded: receiving a repeated transmission of the UCI after the firstslot; and combining information from the repeated transmission withinformation from the unsuccessful decoding to achieve a successfuldecoding of the UCI.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein combininginformation to achieve a successful decoding of the UCI comprisesperforming one of maximum-ratio combining and Chase combining.
 28. Themethod of claim 21 further comprising, if the UCI is not successfullydecoded: receiving a repeated transmission of the UCI after the firstslot, wherein the repeated UCI transmission has a code rate lower thanthe first UCI transmission.
 29. A network node operative in a wirelesscommunication network utilizing slot timing where a slot comprises apredetermined number of symbols, comprising: one or more antennas; atransceiver operatively connected to the antennas; and a processingcircuitry operatively connected to the transceiver and configured toreceive from the radio network device uplink data on a physical uplinkshared channel aggregating two or more contiguous slots for an uplinktransmission spanning the aggregated slots; and receive from the radionetwork device, in addition to the uplink data, UCI in one or more, butfewer than all, of the aggregated slots on the physical uplink sharedchannel.
 30. The network node of claim 29 wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to, prior to receiving the UCI: transmitto the radio network device an indication of one or more, but fewer thanall, of the aggregated slots in which to transmit UCI.
 31. The networknode of claim 29 wherein the processing circuitry is further configuredto, prior to receiving the UCI: transmit to the radio network device anindication of a number of the aggregated slots in which to transmit UCI;and receive UCI in the indicated number of aggregated slots, beginningwith the first slot.
 32. The network node of claim 29 wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to receive UCI by receiving the UCIon the same subcarrier across two or more of the aggregated slots. 33.The network node of claim 29 wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to receive UCI by receiving the UCI on a first one or moresubcarriers in a first slot, and on a second one or more subcarriers,different than the first one or more subcarriers, in a second slotsubsequent to the first slot.
 34. The network node of claim 33 whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to receive UCI byselecting the first and second one or more subcarriers according to apseudo random frequency hopping pattern based on one or more of asubframe number, a radio network device identity, and a number of slotsin the transmission.
 35. The network node of claim 31 wherein the UCIincludes a NACK, and wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: prepare a retransmission of downlink data to which theNACK pertains; and retransmit the downlink data in the next downlinkslot of a time division duplex slot structure.
 36. The network node ofclaim 31 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, ifthe UCI is not successfully decoded: receive a repeated transmission ofthe UCI after the first slot; and combine information from the repeatedtransmission with information from the unsuccessful decoding to achievea successful decoding of the UCI.
 37. The network node of claim 36wherein the processing circuitry is configured to combine information toachieve a successful decoding of the UCI by performing one ofmaximum-ratio combining and Chase combining.
 38. The network node ofclaim 31 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, ifthe UCI is not successfully decoded: receive a repeated transmission ofthe UCI after the first slot, wherein the repeated UCI transmission hasa code rate lower than the first UCI transmission.